Experiencing a company's customer service line can sometimes feel like a game of broken telephone. A new patent, however, means some of that confusion and frustration might soon be a thing of the past.
The tech company Nice has been awarded patent number US20230252486A1 for a computer system able to listen in on customer conversations and detect any complaints. Harnessed within their product, Nexidia Interaction Analytics, this breakthrough technology aims to identify misunderstandings and negative feelings by scrutinizing the language and tone of voice used during customer interactions.
Current methods for detecting customer dissatisfaction rely on call center agents themselves. By requiring human beings to listen carefully to each customer call and identify any complaints, these methods are both time-consuming and subjective. Resultingly, different agents may categorize interactions in different ways, an inconsistency which can lead to low accuracy rates. With this new automated system, Nice aims to not only save time but also increase precision and reliability in complaint identification.
The proposed system, according to the findings detailed in the patent document, uses a more automated, consistent, and high-precision method to identify customer complaints. This approach reduces operating costs associated with manual labor. Thus, the new tool could potentially lead to significant cost savings, specifically regarding employee wages and workspace costs.
How does it work exactly? When a customer starts to talk, the system kicks into action. It listens for complaint-related words and even gauges the customer's overall sentiment. It notes the exact time when the complaint started and ended, and passes on this information for further action.
Figures associated with the patent help visualize how this technology functions, offering diagrams of the system, an example computing device, and sequential flowcharts guiding the complaint identification process.
While heralded as a promising tool for streamlining customer service, we should note this system is patent-protected technology. That's to say, despite its potential, there is no guarantee that it will hit the market soon, or at all. Patents can be an indicator of a company's areas of development, but the commercial realization of the technology they protect is far from certain. Let's stay tuned to see whether Nice's innovation becomes the new norm in modern, automated, and empathetic customer service.